Warsaw Chopin Airport Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie Warszawa/Okęcie Airport
IATA: WAW – ICAO: EPWA + Warsaw Chopin Location of airport in Poland
Summary
Airport type		civil, military
Operator		Polish Airports State Enterprise (PPL)
Serves		Warsaw
Location		Okęcie
Hub for		Air Italy Polska Enter Air Eurocypria Airlines EuroLOT Jet Air LOT Polish Airlines SprintAir Wizz Air
Elevation AMSL		110 m / 361 ft
Coordinates		52°09′57″N 20°58′02″E / 52.16583°N 20.96722°E / 52.16583; 20.96722Coordinates: 52°09′57″N 20°58′02″E / 52.16583°N 20.96722°E / 52.16583; 20.96722
Website		www.lotnisko-chopina.pl
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
11/29	2,800	9,186	Asphalt
15/33	3,690	12,106	Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Passengers			8,320,927
Movements			115,934
Statistics: Warsaw Chopin Airport Sources: Polish AIP at EUROCONTROL

Warsaw Chopin Airport (Polish: Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie) (IATA: WAW, ICAO: EPWA) is an international airport located in the Okęcie district of Warsaw, Poland. Formerly Okęcie International Airport, it is named after the famous Polish composer and former Warsaw resident, Frédéric Chopin. It is Poland's busiest airport, handling just under 50% of the country's air passenger traffic.

The former name, lotnisko Okęcie (Okęcie airport), remains in common use, including air traffic and aerodrome references.

Warsaw Airport handles approximately 100 scheduled flights daily and an ever rising number of charters. London, Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam are the busiest international connections, while Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk are the most popular domestic ones.

History

In 1924, when urban development around Warsaw's aerodrome at Mokotów Fields (Pole Mokotowskie) began affecting air traffic, the Ministry of Railways purchased land near the village of Okęcie to construct a new airport. In 1933, The Central Airport (Okęcie) took over the handling of all traffic from the Pole Mokotowskie. During World War II, Okęcie was often used as a battleground between the German Army and Polish resistance and was practically destroyed. After liberation, LOT Polish Airlines resumed operations at Okęcie, using pre-war infrastructure. In 1956, maintenance of Okęcie was transferred from LOT Polish Airlines to state administration. In 1969 a new international terminal was built to handle 1 million passengers annually, few years later a separate, temporary arrival hall was built. Meanwhile, domestic flights continued to operate from the facilities built on the site of the pre-war terminal. In 1992, a new terminal (T1), with capacity for 3.5 million passengers per year, was built to replace the ageing complex from the communist era. In March 2001, Warsaw Airport was renamed in honour of the Polish pianist Frédéric Chopin (though this name is almost never used in practice, and most users know the place simply as Okęcie). In 2005, the old arrival hall from 70s was refurbished and reopened, and under the name "Etiuda" became a temporary terminal for low-cost traffic. Since 2007 the T2, a newly built terminal adjacent to T1, has been gradually taking over the major part of the traffic. In March 2009 the Etiuda terminal was closed and low-cost carriers moved to T1.

Terminals

Terminal 1 was built in 1992. Initially it handled all the traffic, but now it is serving mainly low-cost airlines (since the closing of Etiuda Terminal in March, 2009) and some other carriers (mainly SkyTeam alliance members).

Terminal 2 is a new terminal which became fully operational on March 12, 2008, two years after the originally planned opening date. The arrivals area was in operation from mid-2007 but problems with safety certification and disagreements between the airport and the construction firm delayed full operation. The new terminal is considerably larger than the older Terminal 1 and has taken over departures for all Star Alliance and OneWorld airlines and a few other carriers.

The new Southern Pier of the T1+T2 complex is currently under construction.

Airlines and destinations

Sculptured head of Frédéric Chopin installed on a monument base in front of Terminal 1

Departure hall of Terminal 1

Terminal 2 façade

Baggage claim area, Terminal 2

Terminal 2 departures

Notes

• ^1 Check-in is at Terminal 1, but arrivals are handled at Terminal 2.

Seasonal charters

Cargo airlines

Cargo Terminal

Statistics

Passenger traffic in the period 1995-2009, from the airport's official webpage:

• 1995 - 2,735,469
• 1996 - 3,090,321
• 1997 - 3,484,452
• 1998 - 3,815,624
• 1999 - 3,997,531
• 2000 - 4,325,814
• 2001 - 4,713,655
• 2002 - 4,936,835
• 2003 - 5,166,991
• 2004 - 6,085,111
• 2005 - 7,071,881
• 2006 - 8,101,827
• 2007 - 9,268,476
• 2008 - 9,460,606
• 2009 - 8,320,927

Ground transportation

Access

Warsaw Chopin Airport is located in the south-west part of Warsaw, approximately 10 km from the city centre. The airport is easy to access by car, the municipal bus service or taxi.

Żwirki i Wigury, named after the celebrated aviators who won the Challenge International de Tourisme in 1932, is the artery leading to the airport.

Taxi

Taxis are also available at the airport.

Bus

Warsaw city centre can be reached by the bus lines: 175 and 188 during the day and N32 at night. There is also an additional line 148 that provides access to Ursynów (a southern part of Warsaw) and Praga (an eastern part of Warsaw). The fare is PLN 2.8 one-way for all the lines (day and night).

Rail

As of 2010, a rail link is being built at a cost of 230 million złoty to connect the airport to Warsaw city centre.

Runways

Satellite picture

The airport has two intersecting runways, whose configuration and available taxiways under current rules permit 34 passenger operations (takeoffs or landings) per hour.

Preferential runways

The following preferential runway system has been established for the airport:

Arrivals:

1. Runway 33
2. Runway 11
3. Runway 15
4. Runway 29

Departures:

1. Runway 29
2. Runway 15
3. Runway 33
4. Runway 11

Between 20:00 and 04:00 hours (in winter: 21:00 and 05:00), Runway 15/33 is used, weather and technical considerations permitting.

Future auxiliary airport at Modlin

A proposal to convert of a former military airfield north of the city into Warsaw's second international airport for low-cost carriers is, as of May 2008, awaiting government approval on environmental grounds, but due to proximity to bird migration routes and protected bird sanctuary wetlands, may be delayed or ultimately blocked. Modlin is also to service charter carriers and in some undefined future, cargo, but due to chronic delays in commencing needed construction, is not expected to become operational until 2011 at the earliest. Meanwhile other regional military airports at Sochaczew and Radom are being readied by their local governments and private investors to compete with Modlin for Warsaw-region low cost passenger traffic and cargo.

Weddings

On 31st July 2010 at approximitly 16:00 local time was the first ever wedding in the airport chapel in Terminal 2.

Accidents

Accidents at or near WAW

• On December 19, 1962, a LOT Polish Airlines Vickers Viscount 804 crashed on approach after a flight from Brussels and Berlin-Schönefeld Airport, while attempting a go-around. All 33 passengers on board died.
• On March 14, 1980, LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007, Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft crashed on final approach from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, when attempting a go-around. All 87 passengers on board died, including the entire amateur US boxing team, Polish pop singer Anna Jantar and Alan P. Merriam.
• On May 9, 1987, LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055, Ilyushin Il-62M took-off for a flight to New York-JFK Airport and returned to Okęcie, after an engine failure. During its approach the aircraft crashed in a heavily wooded-area, short of the runway. All 183 passengers on board died.
• On December 17, 1991, Alitalia Flight 1212, a McDonnell-Douglas DC 9-32 arriving from Rome-Fiumicino Airport, landed next to the runway after unstabilized approach. As a result, the nose gear of the aircraft collapsed. All 96 passengers and crew survived, however the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written-off.
• On September 14, 1993, Lufthansa Flight 2904, an Airbus A320-200, overran the runway and crashed into an embankment, after a flight from Frankfurt. The co-pilot and one passenger died, and 68 passengers and crew were injured.
• On December 31, 1993, LOT Polish Airlines Flight 002, a Boeing 767-300ER arriving from Chicago-O'Hare Airport, suffered a substantial damage after its nose gear collapsed when touching down. There were no fatalities.

Other accidents involving WAW

• LOT Polish Airlines Flight 232 (1957), an Ilyushin 12 outbound from Warsaw, crashed when approaching Moscow-Vnukovo Airport. 9 people on board were killed.
• Polish Airlines Flight 901 (1960), a Vickers Viscount 880 "Joseph Haydn", en route from Vienna and Warsaw to Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport, crashed during the final approach. 31 people on board were killed.
• LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 (1969), an Antonov 24 en foute from Warsaw to Krakow, veered off course and struck Polica Mountain near Zawoja, Poland, killing all 53 passengers and crew.
• Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 353 (1978), en route from Sofia to Warsaw, crashed near Gabare, Bulgaria, after sudden loss of altitude, killing all 73 occupants.
• LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703 (1988), bound for Rzeszów, crashed during an emergency landing on a field in the village of Białobrzegi, Poland. One passenger was killed.
• Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 (1991), an MD-81 bound for Copenhagen and Warsaw, crashed shortly after take-off from Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, near the village of Gottröra, Sweden. There were no fatalities.
• AMC Aviation Flight 4270 (2007), an MD-83 on a charter flight from Hurghada to Warsaw, was forced to make an emergency landing at Istanbul-Atatürk Airport after a fire had burst out on board. The landing gear collapsed and the aircraft was substantially damaged, however there were no fatalities.
• Mirosławiec air accident (2008), EADS CASA C-295 of the Polish Air Force, crashed on approach to Mirosławiec runway. All 20 people on board were killed.
• Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash (2010), a Tupolev Tu-154M of the Polish 36th Special Aviation Regiment carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński, members of the Polish government and the country's legislative branch, commanders of the Polish Armed Forces as well as other Polish dignitaries, crashed next to Smolensk-North Airport, just outside of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people aboard.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
We don't guarantee the information is fresh and accurate. The data may be wrong or outdated.
For more up-to-date information please refer to other sources.